The Internet is a global network of connected computer networks Over the last several years, the Internet has grown in significant measure. A large number of computers on the Internet provide information in various forms. Anyone with a computer connected to the Internet can potentially tap into this vast pool of information.
The most wide spread method of providing information over the Internet is via the World Wide Web (the Web). The Web consists of a subset of the computers connected to the Internet; the computers in this subset run HTTP servers (“Web servers”). Web servers host information in the form of Web pages. Collectively the server and the information hosted are referred to as a Web site. A significant number of Web pages are encoded using the Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”). Other markup language encodings are possible for example Standard Generalized Markup Language (“SGML”), eXtensible Markup Language (“XML”) and Extensible HyperText Markup Language (“XHTML”). Interactive and/or animated Web sites can be encoded using Dynamic HTML (“DHTML”). This type of encoding often utilizes a collection of technologies such as a static markup language (such as HTML), a client-side scripting language (such as JavaScript), a presentation definition language (Cascading Style Sheets or CSS), and the Document Object Model. Web pages in these formatting languages may include links to other Web pages on the same Web site. Web pages may be generated dynamically by a server by integrating a variety of elements into a formatted page prior to transmission to a Web client as is well known in the art. In general, Web servers, and information servers of other types, await requests for information from Internet clients.
Client software has evolved that allows users of computers connected to the Internet to access this information. Advanced browser clients such as Netscape NAVIGATOR, INTERNET EXPLORER (Microsoft), FIREFOX (Mozilla), SAFARI (Apple), and OPERA (Opera Software ASA) allow users to access software provided via a variety of information servers in a unified client environment. Typically, such client software is referred to as a browser.
The foregoing information regarding the Internet and World Wide Web is provided as background with respect to Web-based embodiments of the systems and methods described herein. As such, the present invention is not necessarily limited to such embodiments but may encompass other delivery vehicles/communication channels now known or subsequently discovered.
In recent years common problems facing electronic communication via computer networks in, but not limited to, the banking industry have include identity theft, information leakage and accurate auditing. The present application describes a solution to these problems and provides a next generation approach towards client to business and business to business communication.